The Demon Behind the Door
by Ikathy
Summary: If the Demon is determined to punish you, you shall be punished. Mercilessly. Laxus/Mirajane
1. She-Devil

_I do not own Fairy Tail._

* * *

 **The Demon Behind the Door**

 _You are the latest adventure/ you're an emotion avenger_

 _You are the devil that sells a/ light or dark fantastic passion_

( **Darts of Pleasure – Franz Ferdinand** )

 **Chapter 1: She-Devil**

Laxus took another sip of his beer, feeling the cold liquid slowly running down his throat. He was sitting in one of the Fairy Tail's main floor tables along with his faithful followers from the Raijinshuu, as Freed talked incessantly about something he wasn't quite paying attention. Forehead frowned and lips compressed in a thin line, he had his eyes fixed on the smiling figure of the waitress that served other guild members.

Mirajane Strauss' face held a natural air of innocence and delicacy while she moved between tables collecting glasses and plates, the waves of her long hair swinging with each step. Her hips, though, were the exact opposite of innocent: they swayed in a sensual manner that made lots of dumbfounded heads turn to follow the hypnotizing moves wherever they went.

Sometimes, Laxus was also part of that group, unable to look away from that perfect body of hers as if his eyes had a will of their own. He could spend all day watching her work, serve drinks and smile at other people, oblivious to her hungry watchers.

In that day in particular, however, his attention towards her was proving to be an inconvenience.

His grip on the mug unconsciously hardened as he found himself incapable of holding his dissatisfaction on seeing her near Wakaba and Macao, who were openly flirting – more emphatically that usual – with her as if they were two youngsters in the prime of their youth. The flirt itself wasn't exactly what was bothering him, for Mirajane was a beautiful woman that naturally dragged a lot of attention, so it was expected that some idiots would try to impress her. In fact, the problem was the condescending way in which she simply smiled at each vulgar insinuation coming from those old bastards instead of unleashing the Demon to teach them a lesson.

But no, the only one punished by any reason was _him_.

"Laxus." Evergreen called, dragging him out of his reveries. He automatically softened the hold on his mug and turned his head sideways to look for the reason why his attention was being required.

Three young ladies unknown to him were standing in front of his table, watching him expectantly. They were all well-dressed in short and tight clothes and seemed to be civilians. It wasn't unusual for Magnolia's citizens to come to Fairy Tail to drink, after all, every night in the guild was full with alcohol and parties.

His success on S-class missions and his long lineage of powerful mages made his fame rise quickly along the years, spreading even outside of the magic world, so he was used to being occasionally addressed by women at bars, restaurants or even on the streets, though he would normally run away from these encounters in the guild by isolating himself on the second floor. Freed had already told him he was the bearer of the second biggest fan club in Fiore – losing only to Hibiki from Blue Pegasus – but he never cared about that.

Apparently, the constant female harassment got him the reputation of being a womanizer, which wasn't true. Laxus spent most of his teenage years focused on training to become stronger and the rest of his adult life going on dangerous missions that took days, sometimes weeks, to be concluded. He didn't have much time to interact with the opposite sex – except when he was _punished_ , but he didn't want to think about that – and he also didn't feel much interest in the women that approached him. Some were undoubtedly very pretty, but in general they all looked the same, bearing identical haircuts, wearing fashionable clothes and listening only to the music that was playing on the radios. Maybe the closeness with the strong and authentic women from Fairy Tail made him too demanding for the normal patterns of people.

Besides, getting involved with other women resulted in more pain and punishment to him.

One of the girls, a tall and slim blonde, took a step forward to the sound of her friend's giggles while touching her hair to give herself an air of casualness. The Dragon Slayer suppressed a grimace when the strong smell of her cologne invaded his nostrils, his olfactory system being way sharper than the one of an ordinary human.

"Excuse us, Mr. Dreyar." She sang with an overdose of charm in her voice, while batting her eyelashes several times in his direction. "Could you, if it isn't a bother to you, of course, give me the honor of having your autograph?"

And then a piece of paper and a pen popped up in front of him and he signed his name mechanically without pronouncing a word, to the sound of more giggles. All the three of them smiled and thanked him as he returned the paper, but when the blonde girl reached out to take it, she let a small napkin slide on the table. Laxus wasn't surprised to see a lipstick mark and a phone number on it after they were gone. He was also used to get lots of those.

"Smooth, boss." Bickslow congratulated him and those annoying flying things that were always beside the seith mage repeated what their master said. _Smooth, smooth, smooth_. Laxus grunted, finishing his beer in one swig.

"You're in a bad mood today." Evergreen noted absently while fixing her glasses. "What is the problem?"

Laxus didn't answer her question, though. He intended to raise his glass to ask for a refill, but Mirajane anticipated his wish and came swaying in his direction with a full mug in hands and that ridicule – but astonishing – smile plastered on her face, the same smile with which she accepted compliments from idiots.

"Laxus is increasingly popular, isn't he?" She mocked with an amused wink shot at the Raijinshuu as she traded the empty glasses for new ones. "Your fan club is showing up even here in the guild, now."

Her teasing got him even more pissed. He wasn't able to refrain from the impulse of giving her a fitting answer, not after all the bullshit with those old geezers he had had to witness that day.

" _Heh_ , don't worry about that, Mira." He replied, faking one of his famous smirks. "There'll always be a place for you in my bed."

Several men sitting nearby turned to glare at him, including Wakaba and Macao, that started to scream in defense of ' _Mira-chan_ '. Being a jerk to other people on purpose hadn't been a habit of his for a long time now, but she deserved to be punished for being so lenient with those morons' moves and at the same time so _mean_ to him.

The waitress just sighed at his response, not letting his rudeness affect her, and shook her head lightly while keeping her smile. Grabbing the cloth that was lying nonchalantly on her shoulder, she began cleaning the table like nothing happened.

Laxus decided that he had been bothered enough for the day and stood up, walking towards the second floor to pick the next job. When he crossed paths with Mirajane, however, he noticed a certain glow in her eyes – a glow that certainly no one else saw – and at that moment he knew.

At that moment he knew he was going to pay for that comment. A lot.

.

.

The moon was already high in the sky when Laxus arrived home after three days of nonstop chasing the remaining of an illegal guild. His head hurt and his body was crying out for a good night of sleep, but as soon as he put his feet inside the living room, a demonic hand pushed him violently against the door, slamming it with a loud ' _bang'_ behind his back.

A tenuous vanilla scent invaded his nostrils but he didn't need further clues to know the intruder's identity.

"Demon." He spat the word and long claws scraped the door near his face, leaving permanent marks on the wood.

She was the only person daring enough to break into his residence.

"Have you been running away from me?" Mirajane murmured innocently in her human form but transformed arms, scraping his jaw from the base of his ear until the middle of his chin. He shivered in response, cursing himself for being incapable of controlling his reactions when she teased him in such an insufferable seductive manner. "Did you honestly think that I was going to forget the _discourtesy_ that you threw at me in the guild some days ago?"

Laxus didn't answer; instead, he captured her face with his hands and pulled her hungrily against him, clashing their lips together. It didn't take long for their tongues to initiate a dance towards one another, struggling to secure domination.

His hands slid down her back, tightening roughly around her waist, and he turned their bodies so he could switch sides and press her against the door. However, she had already anticipated his moves and pushed him wildly towards the couch. The Dragon Slayer lost his air momentarily after feeling the clash of his sore back against the cushions, but he didn't have time to recover from her attack as Mirajane was already descending upon his lap, stealing an involuntary groan from him.

"Do you honestly think I'm one of the girls from that little fan club of yours, _Laxy_? That you can treat me the way you want?" Her voice sounded dangerously low next to his ear, as if several needles were piercing through him, and the growing volume in his pants started to throb when she sat against it. "My my, do I have to make you _beg_ again for you to actually listen to what I'm saying?"

"Screw you." He snorted at the mention of the word 'beg' and tried to grab her by the arms, but Mirajane closed her long and powerful claws around his wrists to immobilize them.

The demonic force of the Take Over made it impossible for him to get away using physical strength. The only way of escaping from the Satan Soul's grip would be electrocuting Mirajane and this was one of the few things he had never gathered enough courage to try, since he couldn't control accurately the voltage of his electroshocks. If he overdid it, he could hurt her seriously.

Mirajane, on the other hand, obviously knew he couldn't do anything, for she smiled devilishly at the sight of his hesitation, pulling his arms up. With her free hand, she slowly slid sharp nails along the masculine neck, stopping at the collar of his shirt.

"Tsk tsk tsk, poor Laxus. Such a slow learner." The sluggish movement suddenly turned into a painful tug and Laxus had to suppress a grunt mixed with pain and pleasure when the buttons of his shirt flew all over the room. Angry red marks emerged on his skin and he knew those were the first of many yet to come.

"If you let me go, I can show you I actually learn very quickly." His voice unintentionally sounded hoarse and lacked conviction, though. Mirajane laughed with mockery because both of them knew that that wasn't going to happen and he cursed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as her tongue traced the lines recently carved on his chest until the base of his neck, the cuts burning when in contact with saliva.

The way in which he was completely at the mercy of her machinations was pathetic, he knew it. The first time she had cornered him at the guild's broom closet years ago, stating he needed to be punished for something he hadn't even recalled of doing, Laxus had been numb with bewilderment. Even with Mirajane being a creature of irascible temper at the time, he had never expected that sadistic vein in an underage girl.

Gone the initial surprise, though, it was obvious that he tried to impose his own rules the second time he got cornered, after all, he was Laxus Dreyar and the women were the ones who fell to his feet, not the other way around. However, trying to stablish some rules of his own only resulted in her beginning to use the force of the Satan Soul to immobilize him, making him unable of doing anything that didn't involve transforming her into a carbonized corpse. It was not for _fun_ , she reassured him every damn time. It was _punishment_.

It was definitely the worst of the punishments, in his opinion, being denied the biggest of the pleasures: to make Mirajane Strauss gasp until she moaned his name.

When he was with her, Laxus saw himself involved in a paradox in which he couldn't escape. He hated to be punished, he hated to feel powerless towards the impregnable grasp of demonic claws, he hated having to watch her ministering her delicious tortures without being able to effectively collaborate. He hated, above all other things, to _beg_ for more, like a little submissive bitch.

However, if he had to choose between having her, humiliation included, or not having her at all, he would choose – but would rather die before admitting it, certainly – one thousand times the torment of looking without being able to touch. Mirajane definitely came directly from the depths of hell, architected by Satan himself to infatuate the most incorruptible of men. Each curve of her body was a trap, the melodious voice a siren song that deceived lost sailors, the expression of the purest of the angels that could transform into the personification of sin in a matter of seconds. Her scent was like an aphrodisiac that contaminated him before he could even realize it and her touch was like hot iron, marked so deeply into his skin that its sensation could last for days.

Mirajane was just plain perfect and that perfection was his Achilles' heel.

"Where's the _macho_ Laxus now, sweetie? Giving up already?"

Laxus opened his eyes to catch a glimpse of the most erotic scene he had ever witnessed: the most wanted woman from Fiore rubbing herself against his hips; the hem of her dress fastidiously raised, leaving the entirety of her soft pair of thighs on display; wet lips half-parted as an invitation to get lost on their sweet taste; and a hot, languid look that made his body automatically light up with sparks, igniting him from the inside out. What was left of his determination unwittingly went down the drain like it had never even existed.

She bent down to brush her lips softly on his, moving away before he got the chance to participate.

"Ask for forgiveness, Laxy, and I'll give you what you want." Her mouth moved to his left earlobe, nipping it with her teeth, and his brain shut down, transferring all the decision making to the member between his legs, which screamed to be released from the grip imposed by his pants. He shifted uncomfortably, with Mirajane's restless tongue sliding through the traces of his tattoo and sharp claws scraping his arms mercilessly.

Shit, if she wasn't _so damn hot_.

The lightning mage tried to move his wrists once more, but the muscular fatigue from his recently concluded mission prevented him from going too far on his insistence. Not that it would make any difference if the demon was determined to have her revenge anyway.

"Beg, Laxus." Mirajane detected his impatience and unbuckled his belt with a skillful hand. A wave of relief dominated him as he saw himself free of the clothing barriers that separated him from his torturer and he hadn't notice up to that point how much he was panting, yearning for that. Tiny beads of sweat were accumulating in his temples and throughout his body, stinging against his scratch marks.

She lowered herself above his waist once more, pressing her wetness – _Heavens, since when she wasn't wearing any panties?_ – against his erection, and this time he couldn't suppress a grunt.

" _Beg_."

He begged.

.

.

Here's a fact about Fairy Tail's second floor, restricted to the mages that have permission to execute _S-class_ missions: it was the best place to isolate one's self spatially, but not _acoustically_. In a normal situation in which the universe wasn't conspiring against him, this problem could be easily solved with his powerful ear plugs, but his SoundPod stopped working _inexplicably_ after slamming against the wall.

And against the sole of his boots. Repeatedly.

As if Natsu's shrilly voice coming from downstairs hammering insistently on his ears was not enough, he also had to deal with the immense discomfort of wearing a long-sleeved shirt in Magnolia's midsummer. The scars still burned on his skin – and mind – and the perspective of having to explain them to curious observers by making up a conceivable story which no one would actually believe anyway wasn't making him somewhat excited.

The Dragon Slayer looked at the empty missions' board for what it seemed to be the thirty-eighth time that day and his patience reached new records of limits as he didn't have the slightest idea how he could stay there for such a long time without throwing himself out of the window. If he had to guess, he would probably say that it was due to the eighty percent of alcohol on his bottle of whatever-he-was-drinking.

He snorted, massaging his temples in a vain attempt to relief himself from the pain stings he felt after an awful night of sleep. That demon would be his death someday.

And speaking of the devil, the one and only have just arrived, swaying in his direction. He felt her scent even before he saw her coming, so when Mirajane stood up in front of him, he was turning his nose up at her, with his face contorted in a sulky expression.

She just found it funny, smiling in the same stupid manner as ever.

"Poor Laxus, looks like you've been hit by a herd of cattle." She said, fake-pouting, as she approached his table in order to clean it and collect his empty glass.

The thermometer of his patience chose exactly that moment to blow up and the Dragon Slayer pulled her to his lap aggressively, immobilizing her with both of his strong arms. The cloth she was holding slid from her hands and fell to the floor as she got crushed by his painful grip, but he couldn't care less with her comfort when _he_ was the one scratched, sore and soaked in sweat.

"Hmm, someone is more diligent than last night." She amusedly sang, without letting her grin fade.

"Witch." He spat back.

"I don't do anything that you don't deserve, _Laxy_."

Laxus begged to differ. He thought that entering the guild with his boots dirty with clay or dropping some cigar ashes on the table were hardly valid reasons to be flayed alive by the Satan Soul.

"You are destroying all of my clothes." _And the door. And the couch. And my sanity_.

"If you weren't such a naughty boy, you wouldn't have to be _punished_." Mirajane shrugged as if she couldn't do anything about that, employing a certain innocence on her voice that only made him angrier.

"Neither Macao or Wakaba seem to be the best example of good behavior." He complained, incapable of hiding his resentment, but regretted it almost immediately, afraid of having given the woman _ideas_. As much as he hated her punishments, the mere mention to a half-naked Mirajane in the arms of another man was already enough to make his blood boil in his veins.

She, however, just threw her head back against his shoulder and laughed as if that was the most ridicule thing she had ever heard in her life.

"Punishing Wakaba or Macao wouldn't be half the fun that is to torment the all high and mighty Laxus Dreyar." She explained, still chuckling. He – meaning, the alcohol – replied with a smirk, tilting his head so he could brush his lips softly against the outer shell of her ear, which made the laughter on her face fade completely.

"Well, I think" He began, his voice low and husky, provoking a shiver to run through her, which made him satisfied with her reaction. "that it's because you want me, demon."

Mirajane hesitated for a moment, sliding her tongue through her lips to moisten them. That motion didn't go unnoticed by the Dragon Slayer's eyes, who celebrated internally for ending that smug attitude of hers that was being used to tease him.

"And I think you are very cocky today."

"Come on, Mira," He sucked her earlobe and moved his hands down the sides of her body, closing them on her waist. "we both know you are jealous of my fan club."

Now, a very important thing to be noticed here is that if he wasn't _so drunk_ , he would never have mentioned other women. Although he found them tedious most of the time, Laxus was 1) a man, 2) single(?) and 3) eager to prove himself he could make women succumb to his desires. As many of the jobs he took required that he stayed away from the city for long periods of time, sometimes he looked for a feminine distraction at bars – when it didn't walk towards him first.

He didn't feel particularly guilty by having sexual relations with other women, after all he didn't sign any monogamy contracts – if apprehend and lash a human being counted as some sort of relationship to being with – with Mirajane, but he knew she despised it when he got between some other women's legs merely for the fact that it ruined all her plans of keeping him sexually frustrated. Even though he wouldn't say absolutely _anything_ to _anyone_ about these casual encounters, she was still capable of sniffing them as soon as he put his feet inside the guild as if she had the ability to read minds, which resulted in a more violent and painful punishment.

Laxus felt the female body stiffen in contact with his when she heard the word 'fan club' and promptly knew she was pissed. The white-haired mage disentangled herself from his grip harshly and stood up, turning to glare at him with one of her famous demonic expressions. Then, she bent over slowly, resting her hands on his legs.

"What did you mean by that, Laxus?" She asked in a threatening tune, burying her nails on his thighs. Their faces were so close from one another that he could feel their breathings mixing together.

"I meant that you need to stop being a coward." He answered with an equally serious voice, but before she could do any moves, Laxus pulled her by the back of her head and locked lips with her.

The kisses they shared were always rough and urgent, with one trying to subjugate the other, and this one was no different than the others. Mirajane slid her hands up his body in a teasing way until she reached his neck, closing her fingers in the collar of his shirt. She pulled him forward, making him stand on his feet, and led him to the farthest corner of the second floor so they wouldn't get caught by the glimpses of people downstairs.

Laxus was unceremoniously thrown against the cold and hard wall, having to slide his back down a little in order to be at the same height level as her, so she reach his mouth with hers once more. His hands went down Mirajane's spine and stopped at her butt, clutching it in a possessive manner, while he bit her lower lip, making her back arch in response. She slithered her fingers down his pants, unzipping them with dexterity, and slid one hand inside his boxers to stroke him, which created a heat wave that spread through his body like wild fire on dry straw.

The Dragon Slayer pulled her dress up with the intention of taking off her underwear, but the Take Over mage pulled away gently and knelt down in front of his crotch. Before he could understand what was going on, Mirajane put his pants down and involved him with her mouth. Laxus grunted, feeling the wave intensifying until it dominated all of his senses and left him numb.

Without being able to take his eyes off of her even for a single second, he watched as she moved her head forward and backward, sucking him with no trace of hesitation, and when she tilted slightly only for their gazes to meet, the scene got permanently impressed on his mind. Her blue orbs were like two liquefied crystals, innocent like the ones of a maiden, which made the situation a thousand times more indecent than originally. Probably, he would never be able to get an oral from another woman without forgetting the image of Mirajane Strauss crouched between his legs, stimulating him with voracity.

Feeling his heart hammering furiously against his ribcage, the lightning mage grunted once again. His head was completely clouded by pleasure – and maybe a little by the effect of alcohol, but still – and he closed his fingers in her hair with urgency, sensing he was almost at his limit.

And that was when she suddenly pulled away, ignoring the confusion that showed up in his face. Standing on her feet, Mirajane brushed her lips against his ear the same way he had done with her before and whispered, her voice sounding like a warning.

"Don't you ever tell me what to do, _Laxy_."

Then she walked away towards the stairs, leaving him hardened and panting to solve the situation for himself.

"Oh," She stopped without looking back to face him, seeming to be reminding of something. "I just came here to tell you there will be no _S-class_ missions for today."

Laxus stood still for a long moment, trying to regain his breath and watching her back disappearing downstairs, until full comprehension of what just happened hit him hard.

Seconds later, people downstairs ran and screamed, trying to escape the dozens of lamps that were mysteriously blowing up in their heads.

.

.

People used to think that Bickslow were one of those stupid, inattentive guys with the brain of the size of a pea that were always making jokes and saying idiotic things.

From behind his helmet, however, he watched everything with sharp eyes. He used to notice how Evergreen fixed her hair before entering the guild when she knew Elfman would be there. He used to notice Freed's sighs when the Raijinshuu was out on a mission with Laxus. He used to notice Droy stealing Jet's chips when he thought no one was looking, and he used to notice the exact moment in which Natsu devised a plan to pick up a fight with Gray.

He used to notice, above all other things, when Laxus' bad mood wasn't his usual.

Sometimes, the lighting mage would be quieter and crustier than usual and the Raijinshuu would assemble a meeting in order to discuss the possible reasons for the 'ugliest gargoyle face of all history'. Freed wouldn't have the slightest idea and would cry in desperation with the possibility that his idol's unpleasantness was somehow his fault, and every damn time he cried, Bickslow had the urge to shove that sword of his into his ass so he would stop whining. Evergreen might be suspicious of something, though she never seemed to care much about anything else since she laid eyes on that big oaf, getting out of her erotic daydreaming only to scold him from time to time. Bickslow, however, was sure the problem involved a woman…

Or a wild animal because, for something to be able to cover him with _that_ sort of scratches, Heavens, it couldn't be an ordinary human being. Laxus used to cover them with his usual long-sleeved shirts, but if one looked closely, it was possible to see some red –sometimes purple – marks on his neck, next to his collar. Coincidentally, every time his bad mood showed up along with a powerful wave of alcohol intoxication, it was followed by those mysterious marks.

Boss must enjoy some hard core stuff on bed, he thought, otherwise he would never _ever_ allow himself to be attacked that way. Well, who was him to judge other's eccentricities?

Bickslow was not the type who gave advice and the Dragon Slayer was not the type who asked, so he would merely wait until the moody phase was just gone. Lately, however, he noticed his temper tantrums were only getting worse each time, and the grumpier Laxus would get, the bigger was Freed's exasperation. And the bigger Freed's whimper would get, the stronger was his wish to kill him, set his body on fire and bury his remainings in a ditch far far away from himself.

So, for the sake of the mental health of all the men from Raijinshuu, himself included, he decided to interfere. _Indirectly_ , of couse.

That day's mission hadn't been that hard, only tiresome. They were in charge of investigating an alleged attack on the young wife of an influential merchant, but in the end, everything was forged by the woman herself because apparently she wasn't getting enough attention from her husband. Even though the situation was practically settled, his numerous accomplices in the farce were yet to be detained and taken to the local authorities, so the group focused on that task, despite the fact none of the fugitives possessed enough magic power to be a real threat.

Evergreen and Freed had already gone to bed, leaving only him and Laxus, who was sitting on the balcony with the face of someone who had just eaten something really sour. Bickslow grabbed two glasses and a bottle of whisky, moving to sit on the chair beside him. His babies intended to follow him, but he felt it would be better if he deactivated them for the time being to avoid any incidents.

"Busy day, huh, boss?" He greeted, filling one of the cups up and handing it over to him, who accepted without any thanks. He served himself with the other one. "And all of that because of a crazy woman."

"Hn." Was Laxus' reply as he downed his drink in one gulp.

Bickslow filled both of the glasses once again and they remained silent for a few minutes, swigging their whisky.

"I don't get women." Bickslow continued after four or five shots – he lost count. "I mean, what are they _thinking_ all the time?"

"No one does." Laxus grumbled in a hoarse voice, offering his empty cup to be refilled again.

"If we get off to work, they complain. If we stay, they complain."

"Hn."

"If we open our mouths, we only say the wrong things. If we don't say anything, it's because we don't care." Bickslow started to stumble on his words, not even knowing if what he was saying made any sense, but Laxus kept mumbling and nodding with approval, so he concluded it was somehow working. "But you know, boss, I found out the best way to deal with women is…"

He paused dramatically, trying to make up something that seemed plausible, but his drunken brain wasn't very eager to cooperate.

"Is… to do exactly the opposite of what they expect you to do." _Huh?_

Laxus frowned while he contemplated the hotel's garden, looking like he was considering what he had just heard. And then, he straightened himself and his expression suddenly changed as he had just had the greatest idea ever. Bickslow's work was officially done.

"Well," The seith mage stood up, with his legs being a bit wobbling. "We should get some sleep. The train's off tomorrow morning."

And he prayed his boss' bickering would be extinguished once and for all.

.

.

It was almost lunch time and only half of the tables were occupied, which made the guild considerably less noisy than usual. Great, he thought, that way he could be easily heard without looking like it was his intention. Scanning the place quickly, he found out that Dumb-Face Strauss wasn't there, which was a bonus, since that big ape could ruin his plan.

Freed waved from the table where the Raijinshuu was sitting when he saw Laxus had arrived, but he ignored his friend and marched towards the bar counter, where Mirajane was wiping a glass absentmindedly. Baby Strauss was at her side, organizing some papers.

"Hey, Laxus," Lisanna was the first to notice his approach (or at least the first to demonstrate it) and greeted him with a wide smile. "do you want to take a look at the requests that just arrived?"

"The _S-class_ ones only." He replied while sitting at one of the benches, and the girl handed him a stack of paper. A cup of coffee appeared in front of him without him even asking for it, but he gladly accepted it, taking a sip as he analyzed one of the jobs in particular.

"Solo mission, Laxus?" Mirajane casually commented, still concentrated at her task. If she found weird the fact that he was there at the bar, chatting normally, instead of isolating himself in some corner of the second floor, she didn't let it be shown. "Freed was eager to go with you."

"Spoiling those children may get them too dependent." The girls found his reply funny, chuckling softly. The Dragon Slayer finished his drink and took advantage of their distraction to look around discreetly. Wakaba and Macao were accommodated at a nearby table to his right, speaking quietly and sometimes spying on him with suspicious glares. To his left, Levy was entertained with some book while Gray and Wendy chatted about their respective tasks for the day. It was time to act.

"Mira, I'll be taking this one." Laxus said in a relaxed way, employing a bit more of strength on his voice to sound more audible, but still in a normal level. He sorted one of the papers out and handed it over to her, pulling a bill out of his wallet and leaving over the counter before standing up.

"You seem well-disposed today." Mirajane stopped what she was doing in order to fetch the book of records, smiling her usual smile but speaking in a provocative tone that he knew it was perceptible only for him. "Was the previous night that good?"

The lightning mage seized the opportunity to bend over the balcony, which aroused her curiosity. As her attention turned towards him, Laxus stared deeply into her eyes with a serious expression, not a single trace of malice showing on his face.

"No, nothing in particular happened… _however_ ," He paused briefly to wet his lips. " _tonight_ would be great if you agreed to have dinner with me."

The tables nearby suddenly fell into a heavy silence and the only noises that could be heard were Wakaba's cigar falling on the floor and the small squeak that came from Lisanna. Mirajane's smile plastered on her face, slowly faltering with disbelief.

He successfully took her by surprise. And everyone around them noticed him taking her by surprise.

Laxus could feel her analyzing him thoroughly, searching for any ruses, any diabolic plans to deceive her and get revenge for all the times she had abandoned him with his pants down, but he struggled to keep calm and confident, sustaining her gaze confidently.

A sudden wave of jitters dominated him a fre seconds later, though, with the possibility that his plan would backfire and Mirajane would simply reject his invitation the same casual way she got around other male harassments. He assumed having other people around when he made the proposal in an honest way, leaving no room to be interpreted as casual flirtation, would compel her to accept with no hitches (meaning Demons). But no.

Frankly, the idea sounded way much better in his head when he was dead drunk.

Lisanna, who until that moment was stuck in a perplex state, opened the largest of the smiles and enlaced her sister's arm, breaking the mental debate between them.

"Mira-nee, look at how great this opportunity is for you to take some time off as we spoke the other day!" She exclaimed excitedly and turned to look at him with shining eyes. _Gods, thank you, Lisanna_. "And Laxus can take you to that new restaurant near home, can't you, Laxus?"

"Sure." He answered without turning his attention away from Mirajane, who was biting her lower lip, still suspicious. Lisanna noticed her hesitation, though, and squeezed her sister's arm softly. The eldest sibling opened her mouth to protest, but gave up in the end, sighing.

"Okay… I guess."

"Great." Laxus tapped the balcony with his fists to finish their conversation, and moved away to exit the guild. "I'll pick you up at eight."

It was only when he turned his back on them and started walking towards the door that he noticed how sweaty his hands were.

* * *

 **N/A:** I think I should give some credit to Armageddon Angel's _Selfishness_ since the begging idea got stuck on my mind after I read it. Also, it was kinda hard to proofread it, so if you found something wrong please let me know.


	2. She-Angel

**The Demon Behind The Door**

 **Chapter 2: She-Angel**

At eight he had promised and at eight he was there in front of the Strauss' house, waiting for someone to open the door.

While he walked along the street towards their residence, there was no need to have the acute hearing of the Dragon Slayers to notice the shouts that came from inside. Big-Clown Strauss must have found out about his older sister's plans for the evening as the words "man", "jerk" and "can't-punch-him-if-he-gets-handsy-on-you" could be easily heard. A lower shrilly voice, which Laxus thought belonged to Lisanna, was trying to abate the other one's anger, but he wasn't able to understand what she was saying.

When he ringed the door bell, however, the voices shut at once. A few seconds later the sound of the locker being opened reached his ears and Mirajane showed up, gliding outside with all haughtiness she could gather, a blank expression on her face.

"Have fun, Mira-nee!" Lisanna cheered before her voice was cut by the slamming of the door.

She walked straight past him without even facing him, taking a good ten quick steps before stopping and turning to him with arms crossed. She was wearing a long summer dress that clung more to the curves of her body than the ones she used on a daily basis, and Laxus thought she was no less than astonishing. He didn't have the opportunity to externalize his opinion, though, as Mirajane was piercing him with her frosty demonic gaze, furrowing her browns at his calmer steps.

"You may have fooled my sister, but if you think I'm going to fall for your silly little act you are gravely mistaken," she hissed when Laxus was close enough to hear her. Despite of wearing high heels, Mirajane's height reached only up to his shoulders. "Let's cut the crap right now and tell me at once what your true intentions are."

 _My true intentions are to tame the Demon and make it stay meek on my lap._

"There's no other intention, Mira," he smirked. "Can't I just want to have a nice dinner with you?"

She was about to spit of anger on his face, he could notice.

"Go to hell, Laxus," she barked while pointing an accusatory finger at him. "I know very well you haven't suddenly decided to ask me out on a date _in front of everyone_ without having a hidden interest behind this."

Mirajane emphasized every word by hitting his chest with her index finger in a rather painful way, and the Dragon Slayer felt he was already losing the game. He sighed in resignation and ran his fingers through his hair, coming to the conclusion that maybe half truths were better than utter lies.

"I don't have anything other than this dinner planned for tonight, ok? Even if I wanted to do something else, I couldn't because I need to catch the first train tomorrow morning for a job outside of town," he replied as he stared at her. "The restaurant is right there on the corner and your house is not far from it, so you can bail at any time you want if you don't feel comfortable."

She crossed her arms again, skeptical.

"Besides," he continued without giving up. "You should follow your sister's advice and take a break."

Mirajane's firm composure faltered with the change of subject, then, and she let her arms fall to the sides of her body, vexed.

"I _do_ take breaks", her voice faltered a little and he took the opportunity to regain the lead on the situation.

"Oh c'mon, everybody knows you are a workaholic, Mira." It was his time to cross his arms in front of his chest, rolling his eyes. "You think Lisanna is rather naïve, but do you honestly think she would have had all the trouble of convincing you to come if she really didn't believe you need to go out more?"

The Demon at this point had already vanished from her features and Laxus watched her chew her lower lip in search of another reason to antagonize him. Finding none, however, she turned her head so she wouldn't face him and sighed in defeat.

"So…? Can we go?"

"…When I find out what you are up to, Laxus Dreyar, I swear to God I'll make you regret it terribly."

He ignored her threat and both resumed walking in silence, but on the inside Laxus' ego was howling in triumph for succeeding in carrying on with the plan. Even the weather was conspiring on his favor, the temperature being pleasant enough for him to not drown in his own sweat underneath his shirt.

They didn't take long to arrive at the restaurant as it really was on the corner of Mirajane's block. At the sight of them approaching, the maître recognized them immediately and came forward to greet them without even asking by the name on the reservation. Laxus had dropped there right after leaving Fairy Tail to talk to the manager and guarantee that he would have the best table available, already prepared to use several persuasion techniques in the case of being denied a reservation so suddenly. As the manager found out that one of the most powerful mages from Fiore would be accompanied by Sorcerer Weekly's leading model, however, he was more than "thankful for having the opportunity to receive him along Miss Strauss in their special night".

He could swear he saw the man rubbing his hands together like a movie villain and mumbling things like "visibility" and "money" while he was thinking Laxus wasn't looking.

"Mr. Dreyar, miss," the maître, a slim middle-aged man, greeted them. "Will you follow me this way, please."

While they did as told, Mirajane watched the environment with curious eyes. The restaurant wasn't too big, but the simple and elegant décor in light tones brought it a cozy vibe. They were guided at the farthest table from the main part of the establishment, settled in front of a small, well-cared garden with a fountain in the center, lighted by paper lanterns.

The maître was kind enough to pull the chair for Mirajane to sit and she did it without taking her eyes off of the view.

"We can look closer later, if you want," Laxus commented absentmindedly from behind the wine list that the maître had left on the table before excusing himself to get the menus. "What do you want to drink, Mira?"

"How can they have such a huge azalea?"

"A huge what?" he looked up from what he was reading and realized she was staring right back at him, annoyed.

"The azalea," she repeated impatiently, pointing at the garden. "Do you have any idea of how much I tried to make my azalea look pretty?"

"Err… no?" he replied, confused at her reaction.

Then, Mirajane initiated a detailed description of all gardening techniques and other shit she tried to apparently save a plant — which he only found she was talking about a plant way after the surprise of seeing her suddenly so revolted had passed — that wouldn't blossom "even with all the love and affection invested for it to be happy". He was trying really hard to pay attention at what she was saying, since the Demon could be summoned if she realized she was talking to the walls, but it was hard to maintain focus as a curious thought have taken control of his mind, leaving him intrigued.

He didn't _know_ Mirajane Strauss.

Every interaction they had had since that moment was inside the guild or inside (figuratively or not) a room. Laxus had never been a talkative person and Mira, well, Dark Mira liked to pester other people's lives while Light Mira cared only about pleasing others. He had never seen her talking so openly about her likes and hobbies or about her social life outside Fairy Tail. And that bothered him, because as much as he had seen her grow and shared intimate (?) moments with her, he felt that in that moment he was facing a complete stranger.

"… then it didn't work again and I ended up quittin—oh, thanks!" she exclaimed with a wide smile when the waiter approached with the menus, as if she wasn't talking about the insult that was the mere existence of a random plant only a few seconds ago, and picked a wine on the catalog. "A bottle of this one, please."

Still speechless, Laxus only nodded without even knowing which one she had chosen and after the man excused himself to leave, Mirajane lifted her face to stare at him, lips parting as she was just about to get back to the subject.

She must have noticed something on his face that denounced the awkwardness of the situation, though, as her eyes widened and her shoulders stiffened. And the worst of it all was that he didn't even know how to react, as he had gotten ready for _everything_ — from a provocative foot on his groin under the table to making up topics of conversation so they wouldn't fall into silence because she was playing hard to catch —, everything _except_ Mirajane discoursing about the inefficiency of inorganic fertilizers in the cultivation of whatever. Even _she_ hadn't expected that, as he could notice an intense shade of red spreading through her face before she could hide it behind the menu to disguise her embarrassment.

He cleared his throat, leafing through the menu dismissively while thinking about something to say, but as he felt the words were not coming so soon, he decided to break the ice with the first thing that came through his mind.

"Let's destroy the plant before leaving," his voice came out hoarse and he had to clear his throat again to compose himself.

Mirajane blinked dumbfounded and stared at him for a few seconds, ending up chuckling softly with the absurd that was his proposal. Part of the tension dissipated after that and Laxus' muscles relaxed, unconscious of his own nervousness up to that point.

After that, dinner went relatively well. She didn't tell anything else about her life outside the guild and they talked only about amenities, such as her next photoshoot to Sorcerer Weekly or the details about Laxus' previous job. They really went visiting the garden after the meal, but Mirajane took pity on the "poor plantie" and left it to "live its happy flowery life".

As they were about to leave she pulled her wallet out of her purse, but he stopped her from looking at the bill. "I invited you, Mira, it's on me," he said.

"No way," she insisted, snorting. "I don't want you to think I _owe_ you something, Laxus."

He stared at her, truly offended. He knew that she was talking about men that thought women had the obligation to "return the favor" when the bill wasn't shared and the fact she had even _considered_ he could be one of those guys made him angry. It was true that Laxus had acquired — unfairly — the fame of a womanizer, but trying to _buy_ women? Never.

Maybe his motivations to ask her out weren't very well-intentioned after all it was about revenge, but he never meant to force Mirajane into anything she didn't wanted to do. No, he would make her deliberately jump on his bed, that was the beauty of the plan.

Laxus pressed his lips together, fighting the impulse to be rude at that insult as he normally would. However, retorting in an unpolished way would probably poke the Demon and he was a man on a mission, and that couldn't happen. Instead of doing what was expected of him, then, the Dragon Slayer simply rolled his eyes with indifference.

"You owe me nothing, Mira," he finally said, dropping the money on the table and getting up. She prepared to contest him, but he was quicker. "If _you_ want to pay the bill, then ask _me_ out to dinner next time."

She didn't look much convinced, but followed him without insisting on the matter. The maître bid farewell politely at seeing them walk away and they took the way back to Mirajane's house.

"It wasn't that bad, admit it," Laxus smirked at her, hands inside his pockets.

"That doesn't mean that you are not up to something," she complained stubbornly. "And I'll still find out what it is, mark my words."

"Go out with me again next week to keep investigating, then," he replied cunningly, stopping two steps behind when she walked further to the door.

"…We'll see." Mirajane searched for her keys inside her purse and, when she found it, she turned softly to face him, seeming a bit uncertain of what to say. Laxus only nodded a farewell, turning away to head to his apartment.

"Good night, Mira."

Step one completed with success.

.

.

Well, well, well, who would think that Laxus Dreyar enjoyed some rough play by no other than Fairy Tail sweetheart, the gentle waitress Mirajane Strauss.

When Bickslow had noticed his boss walking past them and heading directly to the bar, he knew. Wendy, who was close enough to hear the conversation between the two of them, was showing a red face that only served as confirmation to his suspicions. The bad mood, the scratches… everything had made sense.

He wanted to laugh. Heavens, he wanted to fall on the floor and burst into laughter until his internal organs had turned inside out. Unfortunately, however, between losing the joke and getting beaten up by Laxus he was forced to choose the first option.

A few minutes after the Dragon Slayer had walked away, the news had spread with the speed of lightning. By the end of that afternoon, every Fairy Tail member had already had knowledge that Laxus had invited Mirajane to dinner and that was the main topic in the guild for many days in a roll. Even a bet network had been created — furtively, of course, as no one was suicidal enough to risk the Dragon Slayer's rage.

When Master Makarov had found out, he had locked himself on his private office and someone had heard crying sounds coming from inside. And speaking of crying, Freed was more unbearable than usual, talking about abandonment. Evergreen, on the other hand, had been quieter, probably evaluating how the circumstances could affect her own matters regarding the Strauss family. Lisanna wouldn't stop talking about her matchmaker abilities not even for a second.

Mirajane was behaving like nothing had changed, attending to everyone with the same grace and delicacy as ever. Some of the girls would corner her once in a while trying to get some information out of her mouth, but she would readily change the subject, always keeping a smile on her face. The answer to the question that was stuck in everyone's throats had been unveiled only a few days after the mysterious first date, when a delivery service had left a huge vase of white flowers in the guild, addressed to the white-haired mage. Mirajane's eyes had widened and her face had become so red Bickslow had thought she was about to explode.

Just like that, it became official that _something_ was going on between them.

Laxus, as expected, was acting normally — as everyone else in the guild when he was present because nobody was crazy enough to mention anything in front of him, not even Natsu, who still sustained a scar from a lamp that fell on his head and suspected Laxus had something to do with that and maybe he wasn't on a _good_ _mood_ to be challenged.

The Dragon Slayer was spending less time at Fairy Tail and at the company of the Raijinshuu, going on S-class missions often. Bickslow couldn't understand exactly why, but was incapable of thinking about it as Freed wouldn't stop whining near his ears. He didn't have a choice other than punch his face repeatedly to give him a real reason to cry. Like a divine miracle, it worked.

After a few weeks had passed by, the _something_ between Laxus and Mirajane was still strong with no one really knowing what was going on, since neither had pronounced a word about it. The waitress would always leave work earlier when he was in town and sharper eyes would notice that on those days she would get slightly anxious. Laxus was still the same with the exception that his frown had been gone and his fan club stopped showing up at the guild, having some girls stated that they sensed a demonic presence every time they thought about getting near him.

The only one that still wasn't enjoying the situation at all was Elfman, who had been quieter than usual (just like Evergreen, _smooch_ _smooch_ ), sometimes sitting alone by an empty corner of the hall. He wasn't getting into fights with Natsu and Gray anymore and he had stopped yelling 'man' at all times. He was the only person with the audacity to send piercing looks at Laxus — who, in turn, was whether not noticing or just ignoring —, but he had never tried a direct confrontation before.

Well, until now.

"Dreyar!" he grunted, stopping by the table where the Raijinshuu was sitting, fists clenched tight.

"Elfman," Laxus replied without taking his eyes off of the newspaper he was reading.

An ordinary man would certainly get scared by the wall of muscles that Elfman was, but obviously not Laxus. Despite Elfman being a head and a half taller and way heavier than the Dragon Slayer, he could still be easily defeated if the latter decided to pick up a fight. Even though, the hostile aura that was emanating from the Take Over mage's body made Bickslow straighten himself up on his chair — not that Laxus needed any help, but Freed always insisted on them to act as bodyguards.

"We need to talk," Elfman continued and Freed was about to interrupt that interaction when Evergreen laid a hand on his arm as a warning, stopping him from acting.

"I'm listening," Laxus obviously wasn't.

Elfman roughly grabbed the newspaper from his hands and Laxus finally lifted his head to face him slowly, so slowly that if he wasn't banging the guy's sister he would have already been killed.

"You don't deserve nee-san!" the Strauss beast was growling up to that point, dragging other people's attention.

" _Elfman_!" Mirajane also noticed the turmoil and called for her brother with a reprimanding tone, but was unable to go there to stop the imminent fight as she was alone at the bar and the guild was crowded that night. The seith mage suppressed a grin, he loved soap operas.

"I don't know what you want, but it can't be a good thing," Elfman didn't listen to his sister, however. "Nee-san is not one of those fans of yours that you think you can use and then throw away. I won't let you hurt her, so _stay away from her_."

"And what are you going to do if I say no?" Laxus lifted an eyebrow in defiance, crossing his arms. The lack of an ironical smile on his face meant that he was seriously angry, Bickslow thought. "Hit me?"

"Maybe I'm not as powerful as you, but I can assure you that before you can stop me I'll destroy your fac—"

"Oh, for Heaven's sake!" Evergreen yelled, slapping her hands on the table, and stood up. "Shut your mouth, Elfman!"

There was a second of silence before all heads turned in her direction, some more astonished than others.

"Who do you think you are to decide with whom your sister is supposed to be or not?" she proceeded, laying her hands on her waist. "Mirajane is not your _property_ and doesn't need _you_ or _any other macho_ to stand up for her."

"Ever—"

"By the way, it's _you_ who needs her protection, so shut your damn mouth, you jerk. Real men wouldn't treat women as objects," and with that said, Evergreen started walking in heavy steps towards the guild's door, foaming with anger.

Elfman, who was dumbfounded up to that point, stared at the figure of the mage going away, then at Laxus, and again to her. All of the aura of violence that was surrounding him seconds ago had already faded away.

"Ever, wait!" he called, finally deciding to chase after her.

Bickslow relaxed in his seat, taking the matter at hand as settled. A vein still pulsed on Laxus' neck, however, and he stood up and headed to the guild's second floor, bothered by the looks coming from the nearby tables. Freed sniffed, but made no objections as he knew he was going to get slapped in the face.

 _What would Elfman say_ , he thought, _if I told him that his supposedly pure little sister is way more perverse than it seems?_

His eyes followed the goofy mage going desperately after Evergreen, not even looking like the threatening person of a few moments ago, and laughed out loud, imagining the face he would make if he knew what was really going on between his sister and Laxus.

It was a shame, he concluded, being in possession of the best joke ever and not being able to tell anyone.

.

.

Of all possible and imaginable scenarios that existed, it had never crossed Laxus' head the idea that his plan would work so incredibly fine.

After that first dinner date, he obviously still had some doubts so he had decided to send her flowers accompanied by a formal invitation to a next date. Yes, he had to admit it was pretty cheesy, but he was appealing to all the clichés he knew White Mira liked. And his idea was working perfectly because, as soon as he had set foot at the guild after concluding his job, anxious blue eyes had followed him everywhere waiting for a confirmation.

In fact, it wasn't that hard to please Mirajane. All it took was watching her closely to know what things interested her, like the time when he caught her staring with certain interest at a giant teddy bear in those tents with carnival games, which largest prizes were impossible to obtain — but not to the invincible Laxus Dreyar, owner of an excellent aim and enough money to make the ring that didn't fit the target _suddenly disappear_.

The hardest part of the plan had been to keep his hands away from her. Each time they went out together, Mirajane would seem more and more delicious and not taking her into his arms and kiss her was proving to be one of the most difficult tasks he had ever had to face. However, he had kept persevering for mainly two reasons.

The first was that he didn't want to risk unleashing the Demon's anger. He was already taking all precautions to avoid ambushes by returning to the city only at times the white-haired mage was working. Besides, he had been really — _really_ — controlling himself not to give her "reasons" to. He didn't smoke anymore. He didn't come to the guild with dirty shoes. He no longer picked up fights — Poop-Pile Strauss had almost ruined this part of the plan, but thanks to the miraculous save by Evergreen everything was fine.

The second reason was that the initiative must come from _her_. Laxus wanted her literally _begging_ for such. The only exception to the rule of no touching had been when the movie theater's air conditioner was too strong. As it had been a pretty hot day, none of them had brought jackets and, although the Dragon Slayer didn't feel bothered by the temperature, Mirajane was shivering like crazy so he had no choice but to put his arm around her shoulders to warm her up… which, in the end, had served as some sort of incentive as, from that moment on, she was always finding excuses to touch him, either fixing some stubborn strand of hair or straightening up the collar of his shirt.

It still hadn't been the response he was expecting, so his hands were kept very well guarded inside his pockets at all times. When she "accidentally" slithered her arm on his, he would pretend he hadn't noticed. When she looked at him expectantly as she was led to the front door of her home, he would simply say goodbye and walk away. When there were many job options, he would pick the longest one to make her miss him on purpose.

It hadn't been easy, but the situation had become virtually unbearable when Mirajane herself decided to fight back and called him to have dinner at the Strauss residence. He had refused to come in every time she had offered him a tea or something, but there had been no escape that time and he hadn't even passed the door when his ordeal had begun, as the Mirajane answered the door with the most provocative clothes he had ever seen her use. Perfection was a word that didn't do justice to Mirajane for being way too _simpleton_.

He had spent that night sweating in rivers, trying really hard to remain as impassible as ever and hoping she wouldn't notice what the thing between his legs — which worked in a totally independent manner of his brain — was in fact planning. The confirmation that the remaining members of the Strauss family would come back home only in the following day just got things worse and he was about to send his entire plan to eternal damnation and grab her right there.

But he hadn't done it.

He had insisted. He was a man in a mission, he had repeated to himself, a man in a mission, a man in a mission.

Somehow, the Dragon Slayer had managed to survive one more night of torture — because it definitely entered in one of the many categories of torture in which she submitted him — without laying a single finger in Mirajane. The disappointment on her face was undeniable when he had announced he was about to leave, though, and that image had gotten stuck in his conscience on his way back to his apartment, making him come to a decision.

When he came back from his next job, Laxus would move to the next step of the plan. Actually, screw the plan. It didn't matter anymore if she still hadn't thrown herself on his arms, as soon as his work was done he would immediately go to her to solve their problem once and for all. If the Demon eventually showed up, then he would be doomed to leave with it for the rest of his miserable life and so be it.

It was with this thought on mind that, six days later, the Dragon Slayer marched towards Fairy Tail to decide his fate, but before he even had the chance, he was interrupted by Makarov, who motioned for him to follow. Laxus frowned, already anticipating the conversation topic.

"Old geezer, if you want to bug me about Mirajane then we'll have to stop right here because I don't have the patience today," he grunted, but still followed his grandfather.

"As much as there isn't anything in this world that brings me more disgust that thinking about you and Mira together, there are still more urgent matters to be taken care of." That being said, the Master opened the door to his private office and Laxus realized that there already were other people in.

His grimace was automatically undone as he noticed the tension inside the room. Erza was leaning against one of the walls with her arms crossed, staring at the floor. Mirajane was biting her bottom lip, a gesture she used to do whenever she was apprehensive with something, and as they entered the office, she stopped fidgeting her hands and turned to face them.

"Master, I still don't think it's a good idea, Laxus is barely back and—", Makarov interrupted her with a motion of his hand and walked towards the mahogany table nearby the window, unrolling the edges of a big map that was extended there.

"Unfortunately, there's no better alternative at the moment, my dear," he made another gesture for Laxus to approach. "About two hours ago, we found out that a member of the Council was in fact an undercover agent for an illegal guild and he stole several documents that could compromise all the military formation in Crocus. After Jellal and the Etherion episode, we can't afford another scandal involving corruption inside the Council."

Erza shifted her weight uncomfortably, but said nothing.

"You don't have to keep going," Laxus replied with seriousness, understanding perfectly what was expected of him. The Master handed him the file of the fugitive containing pictures and other essential information. "Where do I need to intercept him?"

"Our sources indicate that the target managed to escape from Lamia Scale's area by moving through the mountains and was last seen near Kunugi. He probably must be heading to Clover Town to cross the border to Bosco, and if that happens—"

"We can't extradite him, I know," the Dragon Slayer finished the sentence, already turning to leave. It seemed that Mirajane would have to wait a little longer.

"Laxus," Makarov called, shooting a quick glance at Erza, whose muscles tightened. "Be discreet."

"That's why you waited for me to come back, didn't you?" he retorted, already past the doorframe. It was obvious that Erza would be the most adequate person to deal with urgent matters, since she was capable of using vehicles to move, but the Titania's inaptitude to complete assignments in secrecy was noticeable even for her own self, who didn't protest a single time to take his place despite her revolt being made clear.

Time was essential when it came to chasings and Laxus couldn't take long to leave, so he walked in quick steps out of the guild and turned his head up to the sky. Black clouds were forming in the horizon, in the direction he was supposed to be, and with a little bit of luck he could take a shortcut through the storm a few cities ahead. He was about to make haste to the train station when delicate hands closed on his arm, stopping him from leaving.

Turning his head to the side, he found Mirajane still full with distress. This was classic White Mira, always worrying about the members of the guild when the situation got serious, sometimes even missing good nights of sleep when they didn't return in the expected time — if there was any. Laxus didn't want for her to suffer that way, not because of him.

"Mira—"

"I know," she let out a heavy breath. "Just… be careful, ok?"

"And since when I give you reasons to think I'm not?" he smirked at her with reassurance, but she only looked away.

"Well, you also have never gone to two S-class missions in a row and if this man was capable of infiltrating the Council—"

"Mira." The Dragon Slayer held her face by the chin and made her look at him. Something about the Take Over mage's fragility bothered him to a great extent and as he noticed those big blue eyes of hers about to be wet, his stomach churned. He would rather suffer the Demon's punishment a thousand times than see her crying.

Mirajane curled her fingers at the edges of his coat, seeming to calming down a little bit when he caressed her cheek, and Laxus tilted his head down just enough to brush his lips against her in a slow, deep kiss, which he realized it was a whole new sensation compared to the one he felt when their mouths would turn into a war zone.

He could stay there kissing her for hours and hours to no end, but unfortunately he was running against time, so it was with great reluctance that he stepped away from her to stop himself from getting more late.

"I'll be back so fast you won't even miss me, Mira," he shot her a wink and left.

.

.

The "so fast" had actually turned into seventeen days.

The fugitive was cunning. Instead of heading the fastest and easiest way towards Bosco, he had chosen to escape through the mountains to lesser his chances of being captured. Laxus was relying on the Dragon Slayer's acute nose to track him down, but the damn bastard knew how to cover his tracks. The cold, rarefied air of the highest altitudes also wasn't collaborating in his efforts.

That guy knew someone was following him as he would use the riskier routes, succeeding even in cheat Laxus and lure him to a den of demons (oh, the irony). He was left with no choice other than defeat all of them before resuming his chase and it was on that moment that his communication lacrima broke, making it impossible to keep Makarov updated about the status of the search. Three days later, his supplies were also lost thanks to a giant beast that spit fire and every time he thought _nothing could ever get worse_ , another monstrous creature would show and delay him even more.

The nights were definitely the worst as they were colder than days and his sleeping hours were almost none, since he needed to be always alert against possible dangers. It was generally in this meantime that he would allow himself to smell the vanilla scent that got impregnated on his coat, yearning to get back home soon.

Heavens, how much he wanted to make his target _pay his ass_ for everything he had been going through. To stop him, however, had been no easy task because besides being astute, the guy was also very skillful. Laxus had fought with caution due to the discretion needed and his limited set of moves resulted in some bruises — alongside with the many ones that had already been accumulating for the past days —, which only made his anger raise, and after long tortuous moments later the battle had finally been over.

He dragged the bastard to the nearest village, careful to hide him before searching for a new communication lacrima. Then, he let the Council and Makarov know his whereabouts, sat on the hard ground of the forest, dirty and hungry, and waited until the goddam Council guard came to pick him up — luckily bringing some healing mage, since if he showed up at the guild injured like that Mirajane would have a heart attack.

It was only after all of this that he could take a shower, eat something and head back to Magnolia. He was so tired that he had barely felt motion sickness from travelling by train, entering in a state of profound lethargy as soon as he found a free cabin to drop his sore body.

He was still feeling so exhausted when he finally arrived home that he came straight to bed, undressing along the way to his room. He didn't have the slightest idea of how long he had been sleeping until some knocks on the front door got him awake. Laxus rubbed his face with his hands and stood up, putting on the first shorts he could find, and staggered still full with sleep towards the living room.

Mirajane was wearing just his usual clothes, but to him she looked like an angel coming straight from heaven, her eyes shining like two big precious stones and her hair falling from her shoulders like they were made of pure silk. Her scent — more inebriating than ever — was mixed to a smell of food coming from the bag she was holding, which prompted his stomach to growl in response, but he ignored it, focusing on a more pressing matter than hunger.

Meeting her again after such a long time made him realize how tired he was of playing games. Since they went out for the first time, there hasn't been a single night in which the demonic mage hadn't wandered on his thoughts and every time they spent some time together, he yearned for unravelling more details about Mirajane's character as if he was putting the pieces of a puzzle together. When he was away from her, the Dragon Slayer would feel unsettled and moody, eager to come back to Magnolia soon.

Something twirled inside his chest, something he felt he had been ignoring for a long time.

"Hey, I just came to leave this here because I thought you might be—" Mirajane gasped as her eyes found his torso covered with cuts and bruises. "Are you alright?"

 _I've had worse under your claws, demon_ , he thought. Instead of replying, though, he pulled her inside his apartment, slamming the door behind her, and pressed her body against the wood in a way similar to the one she used to do when she invaded his home.

Thanking mentally when she didn't offer any resistance, Laxus linked their lips together, kissing her with the same passion as always. The bag she had brought was long forgotten on the floor as they were completely tangled in each other. Mirajane was as in a hush as him and it didn't take long for pieces of clothing to start flying all around and for them to stumble their way to the bedroom, completely naked.

The white-haired mage straddled his waist with her legs when they fell together on the soft mattress and the Dragon Slayer insisted on kissing and nipping every snippet of skin of her body that had been denied to him for so long. The sounds she was making while she scratched his nape and shoulders with her long nails were producing sparks along his spine to the tips of all his fingers, driving him crazy.

He slid down and down along her body, hands never really stopping moving, until his tongue found her inner thighs and Mirajane's back arched, pulling him up again by the hair.

"Laxus," she muttered a pleading mewl, rubbing herself against his pelvis. She was so wet something inside of him groaned wild. For a moment, he thought about refusing to give the relief she wanted so much and torture her until she begged, then he would turn her on her back and take her exactly like an animal would. However, watching her so languid between his arms, so surprisingly _docile_ , wasn't helping him contain his own impatience. Thus, he clenched his hands tightly around her waist and thrusted inside of her with roughness, prompting her to moan against his ear in response.

Mirajane's movements started synchronizing with his, her pursed lips mumbling his name, _begging_ for him to keep going. And every time she did it, Laxus was incapable of restraining his own groans, moving each time faster until both of them couldn't hold it any longer and burst together into a thrill of pleasure.

Laxus felt the remaining of his energy utterly leaving his body a few seconds later and as he puffed hard he rolled sideways, falling asleep soon after. He woke up after a few hours, sensing numbness in one of his arms as if there was something weighing above it, and as he opened his lazy eyes he found Mirajane, who breathed in a low, quiet pace with her back against his chest. He let out a deep sigh, sliding the hand of his free arm along the sideline of her body, careful not to wake her.

His plan was finally concluded with success, though he still felt something was not quite right. So he ran over everything that had been happening so far since he had decided to tame the Demon… and realization hit him hard like a bucket of cold water being turned above his head. It was true that he had succeeded in making her _beg_ — even though it had been on her own volition since he had sent everything to hell in the end —, but it didn't come for free.

He had paid the price with his cigars, his women, his manliness — because it wasn't very manly to have picnics at the park, to walk in the streets holding giant teddy bears, to send flowers or to cuddle in bed —, the possibility of hitting Natsu in the face whenever he felt like it and a whole bunch of other things he could never do due to the risk of being punished and all his hard work be wasted.

In the end, _he_ was the one that seemed to have been tamed, and not the other way around.

 _Huh_.

He stared again at the quiet figure of Mirajane with a stubborn grimace that didn't end up lasting very long, though. She fit so perfectly well in his arms that everything else didn't seem to matter as much as it did in the past.

That thing that he still wasn't able to identify went back to twirling inside his chest, but he decided that he would think about that later. For now, he would return to spooning.

* * *

 **A/N:** Turns out that translating a fic is way worse than writing it for the start and I learned it the hard way. So I'm kinda sorry for the late update, but I was at the point of hating this fic and would rather take longer to update than abandon it. There're probably are lots of mistakes still, but honestly, I can't look at this chapter anymore.

Also, please note that everything that happens is a reflection of what the thinking character sees and not necessarily how reality is. For example, when Freed says something like "Should we invite Laxus to come with us this time?", Bickslow interprets as "LAXUS DOESN'T CARE ABOUT US ANYMORE, WE'VE BEEN ABANDONED I'M DYING". This will be important in the next chapter because it'll be Mira's version of things and many things Laxus thought to be one way will actually be another. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter too and thanks for all lovely reviews!


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